Travels around Cappadocia and central Anatolia

Yesterday Ian and I hired a rental car and went on our own tiki tour around the Cappadocia region. Petrol is expensive in this area, perhaps in Turkey in general, at 4.38 TL a litre, so New Zealanders complain no more. Many of the people drive tractors the short distance to the village, and all minibuses are diesel powered. People extensively use public transport in Turkey. The whole transport system is comprehensive efficient on time and cheap, so why wouldnt you use it.

Travelling through the landscape was an interesting adventure. We began in argirculutre heart land where green crops, maize, corn, potatoes,tomatoes etc stretched out for miles. This was replaced by cropping land where wheat and oats were being harvested in large quantities. Along the way of course were the fruit trees, and around a village of Cat we stopped the car by the roadside to "sample" the apricots growing from the trees on the roadside. In another village we stopped and purchased a large quantity of fruit for the princely sum on 5 TL. Nectarines, peaches grapes both green and black and figs, not to mention the mellons and the apples we resisted the temptation to purchase.
Farming seems to be a mixed bag, with Huge harvesters and then simple tractor with triple trailers carrying straw. Farm paddocks are seperated by stone walls and cows are often tied to trees machinery etc. I have seen one dairy farm. The land formations were different reminding me very much of Iceland. Lava deposits then 5 k down the road grapes and further along more farming. I am still puzzled by a camp of transit workers we drove passed, camped in tents on the roadside beside an area of crops. Obviously pickets but of what and why and why they had a very organized little community in that spot and why we failed to see more? Each and every village seemed compact rather English with the stone fences, and very self sufficient possibly selling vegetables at roadside stalls.
Perhaps another of the highlights was when I went into a service station for directions to find a village with an underground city. Language was a definite barrier but by hand gestures and other forms of communication I knew I had to proceed straight down the road, through 4 sets of traffic signals and turn right. And yes we got it right. It's not hard to admire these people for their friendliness and their willingness to help despite the odds.